It’s July and that means that Q2 earnings season is underway. Tactical Bulls reviews hundreds of daily analyst calls from Wall Street firms. The reports that stand out the most are actually before earnings and ahead of key events. Any analyst or investor can adjust price targets and expectations after the major news has been reported. The calls and forecasts that are made ahead of time is where tactical investors will pay closer attention. And it is also where analysts are often putting their reputation on the line.

A key goal from Tactical Bulls’ daily reviews of Wall Street research reports is to find hidden gems for short-term traders and long-term investors alike. There almost always seems to be some opportunities that may have otherwise been missed or overlooked.

Investors should always keep in mind that no single analyst report should ever be the sole reason to buy or sell a stock. There has never been nor will there ever be analyst ratings and price targets, even those with the strongest conviction, that will come with any guarantees of profits or money-back guarantees in the event that investors lose money.

Most of the analyst reports covered by Tactical Bulls from Monday, July 21, 2025 are the calls that are ahead of earnings reports. These “upgrades” were focused on new or existing “Buy” and “Outperform” ratings that also came with upside in price targets above the typical 8% to 10% in implied upside from traditional analyst reports. A couple of reports in the financial services sector are after earnings, but the calls stand out regardless.

Affirm Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: AFRM) was touted at Oppenheimer as the firm initiated coverage with an Outperform rating and set a $80 price target (versus $68.90). The implied upside is 15% and the consensus price target is now matching the $68.50 level. Affirm’s 52-week range is $22.25 to $82.53. Oppenheimer sees Affirm as the leader in BNPL (Buy Now, Pay Later) and views its funding and underwriting capabilities being stronger with transparency and strong merchant relationships. Oppenheimer sees BNPL continuing to grow double-digits in gross merchandise volume, revenues, and adjusted operating income.

The Charles Schwab Corporation (NYSE: SCHW) has already reported earnings, but Citigroup reiterated its Buy rating and raised its target to $110 from $105. The firm cited its Q2 earnings beat and continued momentum on its platform and also has Schwab listed as its top pick in brokerage stocks.

DoorDash, Inc. (NASDAQ: DASH) was reiterated as Buy at Bernstein, but the price target was raised to $265 from $210 (versus $239.17). Bernstein is forecasting yet another quarterly report showing strong fundamentals and higher targets issued by the sell-side after the report. Valuations prevented Bernstein from being even more positive, implying that any pullbacks in the stock are buying opportunities based on the underlying trends ahead. If Bernstein’s view isn’t enough, Raymond James reiterated its Strong Buy rating and raised its price target on DoorDash to $275 from $260 — also based on views of strong trends continuing.

Dollar Tree, Inc. (NASDAQ: DLTR) was raised to Overweight from Equal Weight and its price target was raised to $120 from $95 at Barclays (versus a $110.12 close). The firm sees Dollar Tree’s stock price recovery continuing as it will benefit from the “trade down” economy as cash-strapped consumers look for bargains and value. Dollar Tree’s gross margins are also being helped internally by management and also as some competitors have faced store closures in the dollar-discount space.

General Motors (NYSE: GM) was initiated with a Buy rating at Benchmark and the firm gave a $65 price target on the auto leader. This was versus a $53.22 close. Benchmark sees a compelling case for new investors into GM as its U.S. operations are generating cash and has an “underappreciated upside” potential as it balances growth spending with shareholder returns in its capital allocation efforts.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: KTOS) has already been a winner for targeted military and aerospace spending by the government, but Stifel reiterated its Buy rating and raised its price target to $70 from $54 (versus $59.12). Stifel’s EBITDA targets are raised based on the contribution from Valkyrie drones being on the way to full scale production. And for the rest of the company, Kratos is now considered to have diversied growth drivers in military spending ahead.

MARA Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: MARA) is expected to challenge its former mining hey-day highs, at least by Piper Sandler. The firm reiterated its Overweight rating and raised MARA’s price target to $26 from $23 (versus $19.51 close). This implies more than 30% upside and its target is still not even at its 52-week high of $30.28. The firm expects Mara Holdings to focus on AI/HPC data centers for higher returns ahead. And, yes, that is a very speculative call.

SiriusPoint Ltd. (NYSE: SPNT) is a multiline insurance and reinsurance carrier, and B. Riley’s report initiated its stock with a Buy rating and a $33 price target (versus $19.00). The target implies more than 50% upside based on strong reserves, strong pricing versus insurance losses and an attractive specialty product. B.Riley sees the market finally recognizing SiriusPoint’s turnaround an as unappreciated opportunity. Its 52-week range is $12.78 to $21.03.

S&P Global Inc. (NYSE: SPGI) was given positive marks at JPMorgan, reiterating its Overweight rating and raising its target price to $625 from $575. This represents roughly 20% upside if the firm’s thesis proves true — and it is well above the $585 consensus price target and even higher than the $545.39 high over the 52-week period. As for credit ratings, JPMorgan noted that debt issuance has been better than expected at a time when global equity markets had recovered more than initially expected.

Western Alliance Bancorporation (NYSE: WAL) was given the highest earnings report upside after the fact at RBC Capital Markets. Its Outperform rating remains and its price target was hiked to $93 from $90 (versus $81.24 close). This is one of the top views for a continued recovery in regional bank stocks, followed by continued balance sheet growth, stronger revenues, stable expense growth, and a stronger position for growth over its peers over a longer-term outlook. While its 52-week high is $98.10, the stock was challenging $125 per share before interest rates were hiked time after time by the Federal Reserve.

DISCLAIMERS

Please be advised that the analyst ratings and price targets mentioned above were issued by each firmed named in this reporting. Their ratings and targets may be significantly different that ratings and price targets from other analyst calls. Investors need to always keep in mind that analysts sometimes get their thesis and outlook wrong. And sometimes the fundamentals of a company, its sector or the economy as a whole can change in an instant.

Tactical Bulls does not issue any formal ratings and does not maintain any price targets of its own in the companies mentioned in this report. Interpretations of how positive or negative the analyst calls are can also wildly vary from investor to investor.

No analyst ratings and their price targets, even those with the strongest conviction or strongest pessimism, ever come with any guarantees of profits. Analysts reports also never have money-back guarantees in the event that investors lose money.